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22001155 SOUTHEASTERN NATURALIST 1V4o(2l.) :1349,7 N–4o0. 42
Seasonal Coyote Diet Composition at a Low-Productivity Site
Morgan B. Swingen1,*, Christopher S. DePerno1, and Christopher E. Moorman1
Abstract - Canis latrans (Coyote) recently expanded its range into the southeastern US,
where local data on Coyote diets are lacking. We studied Coyote diets in a low-productivity
area where food resources may be scarce. We determined Coyote diet composition through
analysis of 315 scats collected at Fort Bragg Military Installation, Fort Bragg, NC, between
May 2011 and July 2012. Odocoileus virginianus (White-tailed Deer) was the most common
mammalian food item, occurring in 14.9% of all scats and 42.5% of winter scats. Soft-mast
occurrence in Coyote diets was greatest in the fall, when Diospyros virginiana (Persimmon)
occurred in most Coyote scats (95.7%). Coyotes on our low-productivity study site shifted
their diets throughout the year based on the availability of food items and had a diet diversity
similar to what has been reported for animals elsewhere in the species’ range.
Introduction
The ability of Canis latrans (Say) (Coyote) to adapt foraging strategies to spatial
and temporal variation in food resources likely facilitated its expansion into
the eastern US (Parker 1995). Coyotes are omnivores; primary food items include
mammals, insects, and fruit, but relative proportions of these items vary regionally
(McVey et al. 2013, Stratman and Pelton 1997, Turner et al. 2011, Wooding et al.
1984). For example, lagomorphs were the most common food item in south Texas,
whereas Odocoileus virginianus (White-tailed Deer) and rodents were the most
commonly occurring food items in West Virginia (Crimmins et al. 2012, Windberg
and Mitchell 2013). Also, Coyote diets vary seasonally as the availability of food
items changes (e.g., Morey et al. 2007, O’Donoghue et al. 1998, Schrecengost et al.
2008). Generally, White-tailed Deer occurrence in Coyote diets is greatest during
the fawning period (Blanton and Hill 1989, Schrecengost et al. 2008, Wooding et
al. 1984), and soft-mast occurrence often follows local fruiting phenology (Andelt
et al. 1987, Chamberlain and Leopold 1999, Schrecengost et al. 2008).
The effects of Coyote predation on prey species, such as White-tailed Deer, are
unknown in low-productivity areas where diversity and abundance of food sources
may be lower than at sites with greater productivity. In low-productivity sites,
nutritional carrying capacities of White-tailed Deer are low, often resulting in low
deer densities (Shea and Osborne 1995). Hence, high proportions of White-tailed
Deer in Coyote diets in low-productivity regions could suggest greater impact on
White-tailed Deer populations because of the lower reproductive potential.
Our objectives were to determine the seasonal composition of Coyote diets and
investigate the potential impact of Coyotes on prey species at a low-productivity
1Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology Program, Department of Forestry and Environmental
Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695. *Corresponding
author - mbelfelt@ncsu.edu.
Manuscript Editor: Paul Leberg
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2015 Vol. 14, No. 2
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site. We expected seasonal changes in Coyote diets to follow regional phenology,
and diets to contain a greater number of food items than on higher-productivity sites
because of lower overall abundance of individual food items.
Field-site description
We conducted our study at Fort Bragg Military Installation (FBMI) in the
Sandhills region of central North Carolina. The Sandhills area is considered to be
a low-productivity community because of its well-drained sandy soils that limit
water availability for plants (Mitchell et al. 1999, Sorrie et al. 2006). FBMI covers
~65,000 ha and contains one of the largest contiguous remnants of Pinus palustris
(Mill.) (Longleaf Pine)–Aristida stricta (Michx.) (Wiregrass) ecosystem in the
Southeast. The most abundant plant-community type at FBMI is the pine–scrub
Quercus (oak) sandhill (as described by Sorrie et al. 2006), which consists mainly
of a Longleaf Pine canopy, oak subcanopy, and Wiregrass ground layer, with an
open-canopy structure maintained by fire. The understory in Sandhills Longleaf
Pine forests has especially low productivity compared to other grasslands due to
competition with trees in this water-limited forest system (Mitchell et al. 1999).
Other common plant communities at FBMI include riparian areas dominated by
shrubs and trees, and disturbed areas with ruderal plants, mainly in open drop-zones
for parachuting and other military training activities (Sorrie et al. 2006).
Land management at FBMI is driven by efforts to restore and maintain habitat
for the federally endangered Picoides borealis (Vieillot) (Red-cockaded Woodpecker).
Prescribed burns are conducted on a 3-y return interval to maintain the
open Longleaf Pine forest required by this species. Prior to 1989, burning was
conducted exclusively during the dormant season, but growing-season burns now
make up the majority of planned burns in forested cover types on FBMI (Lashley
et al. 2014).
Methods
We opportunistically collected Coyote scat samples estimated to be less than 1 week
old along roads and firebreaks from May 2011 through June 2012. We identified
scats based on size, shape, odor, and associated tracks. Canis lupus familiaris
L. (Domestic Dog), Vulpes vulpes L. (Red Fox), and Urocyon cinereoargenteus
(Schreber) (Gray Fox) were uncommon in collection areas, as evidenced by a
concurrent camera-trap study at FBMI (B. Will, North Carolina State University,
Raleigh, NC, unpubl. data). We placed Coyote scats in plastic bags and stored
them at -30 °C until analysis. We categorized the scats into 4 seasons based on
food-availability cycles: summer (May–July), fall (August–October), winter
(November–January), and spring (February–April). We hand-washed the scats in
nylon mesh, dried them for ≥48 hours at 50 °C, and manually separated and identified
the components. To avoid over-representation of food items, components
making up less than 5% of the total volume of a scat were not included in the analysis. We
compared bone, tooth, and nail fragments to specimens housed in the Naturalist
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2015 Vol. 14, No. 2
Center at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC. We identified
hairs using macroscopic color patterns and by microscopically comparing
patterns in the medulla to known hair samples (McVey et al. 2013, Moore et al.
1974). We classified White-tailed Deer remains as fawn rather than adult only if
small hooves were present in the scat. We identified insects to Order when possible
and categorized feathers as avian. We identified soft-mast food items by
comparing seeds to known samples. We excluded from the analysis any non-mast
vegetative components or inorganic items (e.g., sticks, pine needles, sand, and
rocks) which were assumed to have been either ingested incidentally by the Coyote
or collected incidentally with the scat sample.
We calculated percent of scats as the percent of all samples which contained a
particular item and percent of occurrence as the percent of occurrences out of the
total number of food items (Schrecengost et al. 2008, Turner et al. 2011). We recorded
the number of unique food items contained in each scat, which we defined
as diet richness (Grigione et al. 2011). We used a Poisson regression with season as
a categorical predictor and performed a likelihood-ratio test to determine if season
was a significant predictor of diet richness.
Results and Discussion
We analyzed 315 scats containing 590 food items. Seventy-seven scats were
from summer, 164 from fall, 40 from winter, and 34 from spring. The majority of
scats contained 2 food items (44.1%) or 1 food item (36.2%), and 19.7% of scats
contained ≥3 food items. Summer had the greatest mean number of food items per
scat, and spring the lowest (Table 1), although season was not a significant predictor
of diet richness (χ2 = 5.88, df = 3, P = 0.12). Coyote diet richness at FBMI
was similar to values reported in other studies conducted in the southeastern US,
indicating site productivity has relatively little influence on Coyote diet richness.
In a Florida suburb, Grigione et al. (2011) reported diet richness (1.69) similar to
our results (1.88), although Coyote diet richness in wildland areas (a protected area
with 86% natural habitat) was greater (3.18). Schrecengost et al. (2008) reported
that in over half of Coyote scats collected in South Carolina, 90% or more of the
volume was composed of a single food item, indicating low richness. Similarly,
McVey et al. (2013) noted that a single food item composed >95% of dry volume
in 55% of Coyote scats collected in eastern North Carolina. However, comparisons
among indices of richness are difficult because many studies, including our own,
Table 1. Seasonal richness (mean # of food items per scat) of Coyote diet at Fort Bragg Military Installation,
NC, May 2011–June 2012.
Season Diet richness (mean ± SE)
Summer (May–July) 2.14 ± 0.09
Fall (August– October) 1.76 ± 0.06
Winter (November–January) 2.08 ± 0.15
Spring (February– April) 1.65 ± 0.13
Overall 1.88 ± 0.05
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identify some food items to broader taxonomic groups rather than to species level
(e.g., Grigione et al. 2011, Hidalgo-Milhart et al. 2001, Patterson et al. 1998).
In our study, soft mast was the most common food item detected, followed by
mammals and insects (Tables 2, 3). Trash, avian, and other categories composed
the smallest percent of scats and percent of occurrence. Of scats containing soft
mast, 77.7% contained Diospyros virginiana (Common Persimmon, hereafter
Table 2. Seasonal composition of Coyote scats showing the percentage of individual scats (n) that
contained each food item at Fort Bragg Military Installation, NC, May 2011–June 2012. Aves = both
bird remains (feathers, etc.) and bird-eggshell fragments; insects identified were mainly Coleoptera
and Othoptera. Other small rodents = Reithrodontomys humulis (Audubon & Bachman) (Eastern
Harvest Mouse), Peromyscus spp. (deer mouse), Microtus spp. (vole), and unidentified small rodents.
Other mammals = Castor canadensis Kuhl (North American Beaver), Coyotes, Lontra canadensis
(Schreber) (North American River Otter), and unidentified mammals. Other fruit = Toxicodendron
spp. (poison-oak) and Prunus spp. (wild plum). Trash = any anthropogenic material, e.g., plastic
packaging, rope, and rubber. Other animals = a juvenile Pseudemys concinna concinna (LeConte)
(Suwannee Cooter), reptile-eggshell fragments, and snail-shell fragments (Order Gastropoda). Summer
= May–July, Fall = August–October, Winter = November–January, and Spring = February–April.
Season
Summer Fall Winter Spring Overall
Food item n = 77 n = 164 n = 40 n = 34 n = 315
Aves 6.5 3.0 7.5 11.8 5.4
Insects 72.7 32.3 12.5 35.3 40.0
Mammals
Didelphis virginiana Kerr (Virginia Opossum) 2.6 0.6 0.0 0.0 1.0
Odocoileus virginianus Zimmermann 26.0 1.2 42.5 23.5 14.9
Adult 14.3 1.2 42.5 23.5 12.1
Fawn 11.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.9
Sciurus carolinensis Gmelin (Eastern Gray Squirrel) 1.3 0.0 0.0 2.9 0.6
Sciurus niger L. (Fox Squirrel) 2.6 1.2 0.0 0.0 1.3
Small rodents 7.8 9.1 27.5 32.4 13.7
Scalopus aquaticus L. (Mole) 1.3 0.6 0.0 0.0 0.6
Sigmodon hispidus Say & Ord (Hispid Cotton Rat) 1.3 3.0 17.5 29.4 7.3
Other small rodents 5.2 5.5 10.0 8.8 6.3
Sylvilagus floridanus (J.A. Allen) (Eastern Cottontail) 6.5 10.4 15.0 8.8 9.8
Other mammals 22.1 5.5 15.0 11.8 11.4
Total mammals 58.4 26.2 75.0 76.5 45.7
Soft mast
Diospyros americana L. (American Persimmon) 1.3 95.7 75.0 0.0 59.7
Gaylussacia spp. (huckleberries) 7.8 1.2 0.0 0.0 2.5
Prunus serotina Ehrh. (Black Cherry) 3.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0
Rubus spp. (blackberries) 27.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 6.7
Vaccinium spp. (blueberries) 2.6 1.2 0.0 0.0 1.3
Vitis spp. (grapes) 0.0 7.9 2.5 0.0 4.4
Other fruit 2.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.6
Total soft mast 39.0 98.2 75.0 0.0 70.2
Trash 18.2 5.5 12.5 20.6 11.1
Other animals 1.3 0.6 2.5 0.0 1.0
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Persimmon), which occurred in 59.7% of scats overall. White-tailed Deer, Sylvilagus
floridanus (Eastern Cottontail), and Sigmodon hispidus (Hispid Cotton Rat)
were the most common mammalian food items, occurring in 14.9%, 9.8%, and
7.3% of scats, respectively (Table 2).
We detected seasonal variation in percent of scats and percent of occurrence
for the 3 most common categories of food items: soft mast, mammals, and insects.
This variation showed high plasticity and reliance on seasonally available foods
by Coyotes. Soft-mast prevalence was greatest in fall, when Persimmon fruits
Table 3. Seasonal composition of Coyote scats showing the percentage of each food item out of the
total number of food items (n), at Fort Bragg Military Installation, NC, May 2011–June 2012. Aves =
both bird remains (feathers, etc.) and bird-eggshell fragments; insects identified were mainly Coleoptera
and Othoptera. Other small rodents = Eastern Harvest Mice, deer mice, voles, and unidentified
small rodents. Other mammals = North American Beavers, Coyotes, North American River Otters,
and unidentified mammals. Other fruit = poison-oak species and wild plum species. Trash includes any
anthropogenic material, e.g., plastic packaging, rope, and rubber. Other animals includes a juvenile
Suwannee Cooter, reptile-eggshell fragments, and snail-shell fragments (Order Gastropoda). Summer
= May–July, Fall = August–October, Winter = November–January, and Spring = February–April.
Season
Summer Fall Winter Spring Overall
Food item n = 164 n = 288 n = 83 n = 55 n = 590
Aves 3.1 1.7 3.6 7.3 2.9
Insects 34.2 18.4 6.0 21.8 21.4
Mammals
Virginia Possum 1.2 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.5
White-tailed Deer 12.2 0.7 20.5 14.6 8.0
Adult 6.7 0.7 20.5 14.6 6.4
Fawn 5.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.5
Eastern Gray Squirrel 0.6 0.0 0.0 1.8 0.3
Fox Squirrel 1.2 0.7 0.0 0.0 0.7
Small rodents 3.6 5.2 13.2 23.6 7.6
Mole 0.6 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.3
Cotton Rat 0.6 1.7 8.4 18.2 3.9
Other small rodents 2.4 3.1 4.8 5.5 3.4
Eastern Cottontail 3.1 5.9 7.2 5.5 5.3
Other mammals 10.3 3.1 3.6 12.7 6.1
Total mammals 32.3 16.0 45.8 58.2 28.6
Soft mast
American Persimmon 0.6 54.5 36.1 0.0 31.9
Huckleberries 3.7 0.7 0.0 0.0 1.4
Black Cherry 1.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5
Blackberries 12.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.6
Blueberries 1.2 0.7 0.0 0.0 0.7
Grapes 0.0 4.5 1.2 0.0 2.4
Other fruit 1.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3
Total soft mast 21.3 60.4 37.4 0.0 40.7
Trash 8.5 3.1 6.0 12.7 5.9
Other animals 0.6 0.4 1.2 0.0 0.5
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typically were abundant, and lowest in spring, when we did not detect any soft mast
in Coyote scats. Insects were most common in summer diets (May–July), which
coincided with the emergence of many Orthopteran nymphs (Squitier and Capinera
2002). We identified insects in the Orders Orthoptera, Coleoptera, and Hemiptera,
composing 55.17%, 43.10%, and 1.72% of insects identified, respectively. Occurrence
of mammals in diets was greatest in spring and lowest in fall.
We detected White-tailed Deer in 14.9% of scats, most commonly in winter
rather than during the fawning period as many other studies have reported (Hidalgo-
Milhart et al. 2001, Schrecengost et al. 2008, Wooding et al. 1984). During
summer, we identified White-tailed Deer fawn remains in 9 scats (11.7% of scats
and 5.5% of occurrence). However, Chitwood et al. (2015) found that Coyotes
depredated 46% of fawns born at FBMI (30 of 65 fawns monitored during 2011
and 2012); thus, neonate White-tailed Deer are apparently an important component
of Coyote diets at FBMI. In addition, we likely underestimated the proportion of
fawns in scats because we only positively identified those scats with small hooves
as containing fawns rather than adult deer. It is notable that while Coyote predation
on adult White-tailed Deer in the Southeast appears uncommon (Blanton and Hill
1989, Kilgo et al. 2010), Chitwood et al. (2014) documented multiple instances of
Coyote predation on adult White-tailed Deer at FBMI.
Our study documented high consumption of soft-mast by Coyotes during fall
and winter when these food items were most available. Persimmon fruits were more
common in Coyote diets in our study (95.7% of scats in August–October) than in
other published studies conducted in the Southeast, with Schrecengost et al. (2008)
reporting that 81% of Coyote scats collected during October contained Persimmon.
Concurrent with the high prevalence of soft mast from August–October, occurrence
of White-tailed Deer was low in scats (1.2% of scats, 0.7% of occurrence). Schrecengost
et al. (2008) noted a similar trend; they found White-tailed Deer occurring
in 8%, 3%, and 0% of scats from August, September, and October, respectively.
Previous studies have suggested that soft mast may be frequently selected when
available because Coyotes may be more efficient at foraging on these items than
on mammalian prey (Chamberlain and Leopold 1999). Soft mast may be especially
important at FBMI, where White-tailed Deer, rodent, and lagomorph densities all
are low (Chitwood et al. 2015; Elfelt 2014; E. Stevenson, North Carolina State University,
Raleigh, NC, unpubl. data), therefore requiring greater energy-expenditure
by Coyotes during foraging. Coyotes on our low-productivity study site shifted
their diets throughout the year based on seasonal food availability, similar to shifts
reported elsewhere in the species’ range.
Acknowledgments
Funding for this project was provided by the US Department of Defense through the
Wildlife Branch at FBMI, and the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources at
North Carolina State University. We thank the many technicians who assisted in field collection
of data, and other numerous volunteers for their assistance processing samples in the
lab, including A. Schaich Borg, B. Sherrill, C. Farr, B. Peterson, V. Bennett, S. Higdon, and
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R. Owens. Thanks to B. Reich for his reviews of earlier drafts. We would also like to thank
R. Kays and B. Sherrill for providing lab space and access to other resources at the North
Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.
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